Drivers face £20 on-the-spot fine for leaving engines running in the street
DRIVERS increasingly face a £20 on-the-spot fine for leaving their motors running as new research shows that vehicle emissions are linked to premature deaths.
A growing number of councils are cracking down on idling cars - with some residents being asked to report motorists who leave engines running, including giving the number plate details, colour and car model of repeat offenders.
Idling refers to running a vehicle's engine when it's stationary on a road - for example at a red light or outside a school or residence.
Nottingham City Council this week became the latest local authority to propose introducing "anti-idling" measures to cut the emissions.
Over the past eight months, councils in Norwich, Wirral, Reading and the London boroughs of Camden and Southwark have brought in similar measures, The Times reports.
The paper suggests that more than 30 councils exercise the powers, often using them to target parents dropping children off outside school.
The RAC states that idling engines can produce emission levels twice as high as those in motion.
Leaving a "vehicle engine running unnecessarily" has been an offence since 1986 and councils were handed new powers to issue the on-the-spot fine since 2002.
But until recently, most councils have opted not to exercise that right.
However, there are signs that local authorities are ramping up their control, after Westminster in Central London became the first to introduce the fine.
Last year, the authority proposed ratcheting the fine up to £80 to anyone leaving their engine running.
The move comes as research by King's College London today publishes a study projecting the impact of vehicle emissions on life expectancy, showing children born in 2013 could expect to live seven weeks longer as a result of measures to cut car use.
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The study explores what changes could be expected in the London borough of Waltham Forest between 2013 and 2020 as a result of moves to cut vehicle dependency - finding that nitrogen dioxide levels could drop by up to 25 per cent.
Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at the RAC, said: “We welcome a focus on reducing unnecessary engine idling. The correct procedure should be for an enforcement officer to ask the driver to switch their engine off and if they refuse, they will be issued a penalty.
“Measures like this can play a big part in changing driver behaviour, by encouraging them to think about how they reduce their emissions footprint.”
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